Rev Up Of Evangelion: You Are (Not) My Prodigy
by Shrapnel893
Summary: Asuka Langley Shikinami, two time reigning champion of the Impact Cup, has always preferred to go it alone. Now, the rules have changed; this year's race requires a partner. Shikinami loathes the very idea of sharing the glory of being the top with anybody else; refusing to take a partner. But, when her title is threatened, she steels herself to find the very thing she turns away.
1. Better Off On My Own

**Prologue: Better Off On My Own**

"Asuka, this tournament requires you to have a partner." Her manager, Naoko, told the fiery red haired girl in front of her whilst holding a dark red colored flier. "So, you need to find one."

Two time reigning champion Asuka Langley Shikinami leaned on the hood of her red Evangelion, chewing on a toothpick with her arms crossed. "The word _'partner'_ isn't in my vocabulary." She replied, rolling the toothpick between her teeth. "So it ain't gonna happen."

Naoko watched as Asuka maneuvered the toothpick, weaving it in and out of her teeth with skill. "This isn't the time to be a rebel, because like it or not, you _need_ to partner for this year."

"I said _'partner'_ wasn't in my vocab. _Remember?_" Asuka twirled the toothpick around, glancing over at her auburn haired manager. "So, _it ain't gonna happen._" She repeated, scowling.

Naoko sighed, pinching the skin between her eyebrows in irritation, before attempting to address the stubborn teenager again. "Fine, I get it. Look," She pointed a finger at her. "_You_ don't need a partner, but the _tournament_ does." She leaned back, crossing her arms. "So if you don't find one, you're not entering the tournament. _Got it?_"

Asuka took the toothpick in her hand, inspecting it as if the inanimate object was more interesting than the animate one standing in front of her. "_Yeah, yeah. I got it._" She continued to scowl, as she tossed the toothpick. "I'll find a partner before the tournament, alright?"

Her manager relaxed, satisfied that Asuka was now cooperating; the girl was so hard to work with sometimes. "Good decision," She nodded, presenting the flier to the teenager. "Here."

"Asuka looked at it for a second, before making a face. "And what the hell do you want me to do with this?" She asked, pointing to it. "Make origami?"

Naoko rolled her eyes, not in the mood for her smart remarks. "_No._ I want you to read over and memorize it."

"What is this, Literacy class?" Asuka waved the paper away. "I don't need it."

"Yes, you _do._" Naoko held firm, not backing down. "Otherwise, I'm afraid-"

"That I won't know how to read?" Asuka put her hands on her hips, her red plugsuit flexing as she bent forward. "What am I, a seven year old? I told you: _I don't need it._"

_No, more like a five year old_. Naoko thought, frowning in irritation. "Asuka, most children know how to read by that point." She stated, raising an eyebrow.

Asuka countered with a raised eyebrow of her own. "Are you implying that at age seven I didn't know how to read?"

Naoko rolled her eyes again, lightly smacking her forehead. "No Asuka, I was just stating a fact." She help up her hands, "_Look,_ we could argue about the reading levels of children all day if we wanted, but I'd much rather do something about this tournament." She waved the flier in Asuka's face.

"_Gimme' that!_" Asuka yanked the flier out of her manager's hand, crumbling it up into a ball. "I don't need some stupid piece of paper to tell me about a tournament!" She tossed the paper behind her shoulder. "Especially one with such a depressing shade of red!"

Naoko didn't say anything; she'd have to agree with her there. That flier was like the color of blood; _it was just disturbing__ly creepy__._ Instead, she sighed again, standing up straight. "Ok fine, the flier can go, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that you _need_ a partner."

Asuka leaned back onto the hood of her Evangelion, hands in her jacket pockets. Looking away from Naoko, she grumbled, "Yeah, I heard you the first ten times." She pulled her black hat down over her eyes, her two metals from winning the previous tournaments cleanly pinned on the rim, just above the black eye patch covering her left eye.

"I'd knew you'd understand." Naoko smiled, turning on her heel to leave. She waved as she walked away from the teenager, going off to take care of other matters.

Asuka watched her walk away, as she kept her true feelings to herself. _I don't need a partner. I'll be fine on my own._ She sprawled herself over her Evangelion's hood, gazing up at the ceiling. _I don't need anybody else!_

* * *

The Next Day.

* * *

Asuka sat by herself in NERV's cafeteria, which was practically empty so early in the morning. She was content eating by herself, as that was how it's always been and that's how she liked it. She tore into her food, a mixture of synthetically processed meat and vegetables. Oddly enough, the vegetables were fresh and grown from a garden, but she didn't care as she took another bite out of her food. Washing it down with some milk, she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"H-hey there, A-Asuka!" A shadow was blocking her sunlight, as it loomed next to her. "Didn't expect to see you here so early in the morning."

She recognized the voice, and immediately, without a second thought, she became very annoyed. "What do you want, _Stupid Shinji?_" She glanced up, already disinterested in whatever he was going to say.

He smiled weakly, glancing down at his thumbs as he twiddled them, before looking back up to respond. "I.. I just wanted to tell you good luck in the tournament."

Asuka inhaled, as if his very presence was making her nose itch. "I don't need luck." She blinked, "_Especially not yours._"

Shinji was hurt, as he looking away from her as he responded again. "Oh, well, I'm sorry then." He clutched his arm, hesitantly looking back at her. "I just thought-"

"_Well, you thought wrong._" Asuka said, cutting him off. She waved her hand, as if she were shooing away a lost puppy. "Now leave me alone." She intensely stared into Shinji's brown eyes, wanting him to go away as quickly as possible.

After a second, he looked away again sadly. "I'll be going then." He mumbled, walking away to somewhere she didn't care to know, as she went back to her interrupted meal. She was barely cutting another piece of meat off her tray, when another shadow loomed over her. _What the hell is it this time?!_

"What is it _now_, Stupid Shinji?" She scowled, looking up. Her face dropped in surprise as she saw who it actually was. Then, it quickly turned into hate as she saw _who it was._

"Hey there _Princess_, enjoying your food?" Mari Illustrious Makinami asked spitefully, smirking. "I hear you don't have a partner yet. Is that true?"

"It's none of _your_ business, _Four-Eyes._" Asuka replied, equally as spiteful.

Mari held her smirk. "Looks like it was true, after all." She bent down closer. "You should get a partner soon," She whispered. "Or you can kiss your title goodbye." She bent back up, her pink plugsuit flexing. Laughing, she indicated towards herself. "Because I'll be the one to take it." And with that, she walked away, still laughing, giving a half hearty wave to the other girl. "So long, _Princess._"

Asuka boiled with rage, snapping her plastic knife in half. _That bitch. I'll show her!_ She thought angrily; determined. "I'll find a partner and tear those glasses right off your tea sipping face!" She grabbed a hold of her carton of milk, chugging it down before crushing it. _Just you wait, your Four-Eyed loser!_


	2. Candidates

**Chapter One: Candidates **

Asuka sat at her desk, glancing around the classroom. Everyone was in their respective cliches: the nerds with the nerds, the losers with the losers, the jocks with the jocks, and so on. The only other person alone besides herself was Ayanami, and as Asuka looked over at her staring out the window with her hand underneath her chin, she made a disgusted face. _No way am I pairing with that doll! _

She glanced around the room again, from cliché to cliché, searching for a possible partner. Her eyes rested on Shinji's group, consisting of: an otaku, a moron, and an idiot. Inhaling through her nose with disinterest, she assessed if either of the three would be a good choice, and she quickly abandoned _that_ thought. Moving from them, she passed over Mari and her gaggle of followers with refined hatred. Her followers, all losers, who, _apparently_, have never seen a British foreign exchange student before. To her, they were a normal sight back in Germany; when she was still there, anyway.

Finally, she came went to Hikari, the class representative. Asuka hadn't ever really spoken to Hikari, and from observing her, she summarized that she, like everyone else in the room, was unfit to be her partner for the tournament.

Sighing to herself, Asuka concentrated back on the handheld game she had hidden inside her desk for the boring and drawn out hours of school. Feeling eyes boring into the back of her head, she shuttered as her _degenerate pervert senses_ started to tingle. Scowling, she swung around to confront the culprit.

"What?" She looked up into the face of Kensuke, the otaku of the trio of losers. His face was beaming with excitement and it immediately creeped her out, as she burned her hatred for his stupid smile into his face, as if her stare alone would melt it off. "Quit staring at me like that."

He blinked, "Oh, sorry! I was just so excited!" He passed, his face getting serious, staring into her eyes. "Let me be your partner for the tournament."

"No."

He got in her face, persistent. "But you need a partner right? Well," he stood up straight, indicating proudly at himself. "I'm your man!"

"No, you're not." She held her scowl, shooing him away. "Go away."

"But-"

"What are you, _stupid?_" Asuka raised an eyebrow, not wanting to argue. "I said no. Can't you see that I'm _busy_?," she pointed down at the handheld game. "So leave already."

Kensuke looked hurt, just like Shinji had last week, as he slowly went back to the trio of losers, dragging his feet and not saying anything in return.

_Otakus, __humph__! _Asuka went back to her game, not concerned at all for Kensuke's well-being. _So annoying!_Pressing button after button, she couldn't shave off one thought that still lingered in her mind. Glancing over at the trio of losers, she wondered who Shinji's partner was. He noticed her gaze, and smiled. She made a face back, not wanting to draw attention to herself, before abruptly turning back around. The only possible partner for Stupid Shinji, she theorized, would be Rei, and as she looked at the blue haired girl, her nose twitched. She itched it and then inhaled slowly. Exhaling sharply, Asuka got up and grudgingly started making her way over to where Rei was seated by the window. Navigating around desks and chairs, it only took her a couple of seconds before she was standing beside her. Looking down at the other girl, she waited for her to realize someone was wanting to talk to her; _as much as that person hated to admit it._

After a couple of seconds passed with no acknowledgment, Asuka cleared her throat. "Hey Second Child," she took on a lively voice, trying to get Rei's attention. She didn't turn around. "Hey." No response. Asuka scowled, losing her patience. "Hey! Answer already!" She slammed her hands on Rei's desk to get her attention. The blue haired girl, noticing another presence, looked over her shoulder. Her crimson eyes stared into Asuka's blue ones.

"Do you need something?" She asked, her hands now folded in her lap.

Asuka eased her scowl, attempting to smile, but it came out as a crooked line that was forcibly stretched. "Yeah, I do."

"What is it then?" Rei responded unblinkingly.

"I-I just wanted to know..." Asuka struggled to get the words out. "...who's going to be y-your partner for the upcoming tournament."

"_Why?_" Rei's facial expression didn't change, like it was statically plastered onto her face, and that made Asuka really angry for some reason; she couldn't tell what she was thinking half the time.

Asuka rubbed the back of her head, letting out a small laugh and staring up at the ceiling. "Oh you know," she looked back down at Rei; into her crimson eyes. "Just to see who's with who. I mean it is a friendly competition after all."

Rei didn't hesitant with her answer. "_No._" And with that, she went back to gazing outside the window at nothing in particular.

Asuka stood there for a moment, making sure she had heard that right. _No? NO?!_ She was about ready to lash out, but regained her temper at the last second, angrily stomping off. _Well I don't need that doll to tell me anyway!_ She steamed, going over to where Shinji and his two loser friends were laughing about something only they would find funny. _I guess I'll ask Stupid Shinji, then. _Approaching the three boys, she nudged her way to Shinji's desk. She held up her hand to Kensuke, who had thought she was coming to take him up on being her partner. He frowned, going back to his mopping from earlier.

"Hey, whadda ya doin'!" Touji protested, as Asuka pushed him out of the way.

"Shut up, moron! _Move!_" She brought her foot down on his, causing him to yelp and mumble something about her being a rotten bitch. "_What was that?_" She turned.

"_Nothin'_," he replied, rubbing his foot and scowling as he looked away.

"That's what I thought." She turned back to Shinji, no smile on her face like she had tried with Rei.

"Hey, Stupid Shinji, who's your partner for the tournament." She asked bluntly, not caring about her approach.

He blinked, then looked to his right. She followed his gaze, but there was nothing where he was staring except an empty desk. Asuka pointed at it with her hand. "There's nothing there! Are you telling me your partner is a ghost?"

"No, it's-"

"_Thin air?_" Asuka replied, cutting him off, hands on her hips.

Shinji shook his head. "No, Kaworu."

This time Asuka blinked, leaning back. _Wait, not Wonder Girl, but_ _Kaworu?_ She couldn't think of anyone by that name, until it hit her. "You mean that_ Homo?!_" She exclaimed, stepping back a little.

At her response and accompanying gesture, Shinji stood up. "He's not a homo." He told her. "He's really nice."

Touji appeared around Asuka, careful not to get too close. "I think she's godda' point." He agreed, crossing his arms as he nodded. "Dat guy's definitely a homo."

Asuka nodded as well, indicating towards Touji. "See, even a _moron_ can tell that that guy is a homo."

"Who ya callin' da moron!?" He made a face, angry.

Asuka blinked again, "I thought that was obvious." She let him to mumble angrily to himself at the insult as she turned back to Shinji. "Does that _mean...?_"

"_No!_" Shinji stated firmly. "And he's not a homo!"

Asuka inhaled through her nose. "Well, thanks. That's all I wanted to know," she said, before turning to leave the trio of losers. Scowling at Mari as she passed her group, the brunette girl smirked back, as they locked eyes for a second. _Just you wait, Four-Eyes! _Asuka gave one last look of disdain at the girl, then sat back down in her chair. _Just you wait._

* * *

Later That Day.

* * *

Kicking a small uprooted rock on the sidewalk, Asuka walked towards the train station. _Where am I going to find a partner?_ She mused as she repeatedly kicked the rock with every step she took. _It would have to be someone not from here, unrelated to anyone I know._ She summarized that that was the best option, her hands in her jacket pockets. It was cold out, and her fiery resolve kept her warm. Though, her hat and jacket helped too.

_Someone not from here... _She thought as she crossed the street to the train station. Today was the day she ate dinner in Matsushiro, before visiting her mother's grave there. Walking into the station, she hastily got a ticket for the next train, gazing up at the signs that went to every area in Japan, her hat casting a shadow over her face. As the train entered the station, she stood there a moment staring at the door after it opened._ Someone __unrelated__, someone __unrelated__, someone __unrelated__. _She repeated the words in her head, as she boarded the train.


	3. Encounter

**Chapter Three: Encounter**

_Matsushiro._ Asuka walked the narrow streets of Matsushiro, searching for a quick place to eat. She sneered at most of the places she passed, the whole area brought up memories that she'd rather keep buried. Folding her hands behind her head, she went from small shop to small shop with disinterest. Stretching as she turned a bend, she looked up into the evening sky, at the clouds above. In sky, past the clouds, there was the distant glow of stars, and one shone brighter than all the others. Asuka gazed up at it, reaching out her hand as if she could grasp it.

"_Mother._"

* * *

Hanako lay on the grass, hands behind her head as she stared up into the sky, at the clouds above, and beyond it, the stars. For her, only two stars shone brighter than all the others, and her icy blue eyes watched as they were both clearly visible in the evening sky. She didn't bother doing anything else other than to stare, as she knew they were gone, and that they weren't coming back. Sitting up, she heard footsteps in the quiet street below her, and as she peered over the ledge, there was a lone girl, barely older than herself, who too, was staring up at the sky, and the distant stars above. The first thing she noticed about the girl was her fiery red hair, and the uniform she was wearing – she wasn't from around her. _Just like her._ The girl had her hand raised to the sky, as if reaching for something far away, clutching it into a fist. As Hanako watched, the girl dropped her hand, and continued to walk; a walk tempered in hot iron that scorched the ground beneath her feet. Hanako was curious, but not curious enough to follow her, as she yawned and lied back down, continuing to stare up at the sky above.

It was at that moment that a thought hit her: if this woman wasn't from here, that meant she had money, and money was always needed by the less fortunate. Hanako sat back up, a new idea forming in her mind. If she _"__b__orrowed"_ some money from this girl without her knowledge, she would be able to eat for at least another day or more!

"_Wait,_ what if she doesn't have that much money?" Hanako questioned, rubbing her chin. She quickly abandoned the doubt, reasoning that even if she didn't, she could at least get something out the ordeal. A little money her way was better than no money, and with it, starvation. Jumping up, Hanako balanced on the ledge, walking along the stones as she followed the girl down below; at a distance of course. For some odd reason, the girl held an intimidating air about her that made her seem somewhat ferocious. Though, that impression didn't stop Hanako from at least trying, as she carefully edged herself closer to the girl. Nimbly jumping down to the street, she hid behind a pole. The girl had stopped at a two way street, and was probably contemplating which way to go next. She scratched her heard as she looked at the two signs above. After a couple of seconds, she got visibly frustrated on which way to go, then gave up and decided that the left street was the better option.

_Is she stupid? _Hanako thought as she watched the girl start down the street. _That way's full of thugs._ She quickly moved to follow her, not wanting some other person to mug her before she did. The girl stopped again, as if she heard something, and glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. Seeing nothing, she shrugged, her hands folded behind her head as she resumed her walk into dangerous territory. Luckily, Hanako had hid behind another pole, thus the girl hadn't seen her. Peering around it, she waited until the girl was a good distance away, then proceeded to trail her again.

* * *

Asuka could have sworn she felt someone was following her. As she walked, she began humming a tune that Shinji always played on his cello. A tune that, as much as she hated to admit it, she rather liked; though, the chances of telling him that were slim, and as she hummed, she felt it again. The feeling of someone behind her. Making a disgusted face, she wondered if it were some stalker, or just a cat. Either way, she didn't care, as she hated both stalkers and cats anyway. She maneuvered so she could see from the corner of her eye, just in case it really was a stalker... _or a cat._

Rounding another corner, she immediately bumped into someone. Backing up, a scowl formed on her face. "Hey, watch where you're going!" She said, as she looked up into the eyes of a shady figure with, in her opinion, stupid looking hair, and an even dumber expression on his moronic face. A delinquent, she summarized. Not intimidated in the slightest, she boringly inhaled through her nose. "Move, _moron._"

"Whatca say, girlie?" The tall man responded, cracking his knuckles.

"What are you, _stupid?_" Asuka replied, "I said _move,_ you overgrown monkey!" She brought her foot down on the man's foot.

He yelped in pain, clutching his foot and hopping around. An angry spell came over him as looked down at the annoyed girl in front of him. "You bitch! You'se gonna pay fer dat!" He whistled, a group of other similarly stupid looking boys came out, as if materializing out of thin air.

Asuka raised an eyebrow, not impressed. "Who are these guys, your band of losers?"

There were angry shouts of insults and protests as the tall man, obviously the leader of this group of delinquents, went back to his group, the pain in his foot having subsided. "I told ya girlie." He smirked, "Now you'se gonna pay!"

* * *

Hanako hid behind the corner, taking in all that she had just witnessed. _That girl, she's looking for a death sentence!_ She peaked around the corner. _This is bad. That's Jintoku's gang, the Hageshii Tongs! They're gonna beat her before mugging her! _Biting her lip, Hanako debated whether to help the girl, or to watch as she got sorely beaten by Jintoku and his group. Her train of thought was interrupted, as a sharp laugh made her focus her attention back to what was unfolding around the corner.

"What? _The Hageshii Tongs_? That's the most _stupidest_ name for a gang I've ever heard of!" The girl was uncontrollably laughing, as the gang she insulted was getting angrier and angrier. "What a bunch of idiots!" She was practically crying, then slowly regained her composure, crouching into a fighting stance as she smirked. "Well then, come on, you losers! Show me what you got!" She yelled, baiting them to attack her.

_Oh no! This is really bad!_ Hanako watched as the gang charged the lone girl, and against her better judgment, she rushed in to help the seemingly clueless soon to be victim.

* * *

"_Stop!_" A girl's voice called out.

Asuka heard footsteps behind her as the delinquents were closing in. _What is it now?! I'm busy!_ She scowled, glancing over to see the one responsible. "Who the hell are you?!" She yelled, pointing at a slightly tanned, light blue eyed girl with ashy blonde hair with brunette highlights. The girl ran up beside her, assuming a combat stance of her own. Asuka noticed that she was a little younger than herself, and a little shorter as well.

"I'm here to lend you a hand!" The girl replied, fixing her gaze on the delinquents, who had now stopped a few meters in front of them. Their leader, Jintoku, stepped forward.

"Well well, if it ain't _Fujinami!_" He crossed his arms, "Whatca doin' with this bitch?" He asked, before retracting his question. "Well, it don't matter, we'll just beat ya both!" He concluded, as his gang laughed behind him.

"Let's see you try, _moron!_" Asuka shouted back, then glanced over at the girl beside her. "And I don't need your help!"

"Well nobody asked for _your_ opinion!" The girl replied, "Like it or not, I'm helping you!"

Asuka turned her attention back to the group of delinquents, "Yeah, whatever. Just don't get in my way!" She surged forward, tired of waiting.

Hanako followed after her, as they both plunged into the group of delinquents like two fast moving trains. Within seconds, they were kicking and punching left and right, weaving their way in and out, and knocking out delinquent after delinquent until only their leader, Jintoku, was left standing.

"_You bitches!_" He yelled in frustration, as he looked at what remained of his gang sprawled this way and that on the narrow street. "_I'm gonna-_"

The two girls didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, as they both came at him at once. They both punched him dead on in the stomach, and as he gasped from the sudden pain shooting through his body, they delivered another punch together that sent him crashing backwards. As he hit the ground, Asuka brought her foot down and stomped on his chest, twisting her foot until he passed out. Panting, Asuka smiled as she straightened herself.

"You guys... are _nothing..._" She remarked through intakes of breath. Glancing over at the other girl, she saw her in a new light. _She could be the one. _"Hey, kid, what's your name?" Asuka asked, turning to face her.

The girl wiped sweat from her forehead before responding. "Hanako..." The girl answered through intakes of breath herself. "_Hanako Fujinami._"

Asuka offered her hand. "Well Hanako, I'm Asuka..." She smirked as Hanako accepted the handshake. "_Asuka Langley Shikinami. _Do you want to go get some lunch with me?"

Hanako blinked, surprised by the question, but she wasn't going to turn it down, making a smirk of her own. "Sure Asuka, I could go for something."

"Great, let's go find a place then." Asuka replied, stepping over the unconscious bodies of the Hageshii Tongs.

Hanako followed after her, happy that she got something out of the whole ordeal – even if it wasn't what she had originally planned. _Yes, food! _She clenched her fist in triumph, taking one last glimpse at Jintoku and his gang now behind them. _The Hageshii Tongs, it really is a stupid name! _She smiled, turning back as she walked alongside Asuka.


End file.
